Various types of partition systems have been developed over the years in an attempt to meet the needs of modern highrise office towers. Conventional drywall partitions initially offered advantages when compared with the older plaster walls. Conventional drywall construction, however, is totally inadequate for modern requirements.
Conventional drywall construction is labour intensive and, accordingly, the cost factor alone prohibits its use in large projects.
Equally significant in the highrise office tower situation is the need to have partition walls which can be disassembled and reassembled in different configurations to meet changing office requirements. It has been found that an average of ten to fifteen per cent of the partitions in a highrise (office) tower are moved each year.
Various systems have been developed in an attempt to meet cost and moveability criteria. To date, however, each such proposed system has suffered from a number of deficiencies. Furthermore, developing construction methods are continuously dictating additional requirements, so that older systems become progressively less satisfactory.
For example, it was formerly the case that partition walls were required to follow the grid system utilized in a modern suspended ceiling, so that the partition wall would be directly below the suspended T-bars of the ceiling. By contrast it is now highly desirable that alignment as between the T-bars and the partition walls be avoided. This arrangement allows the integrity of the T-bars to be maintained and not be broken, for example, by wiring or the like leading from the wall into the ceiling. This requirement has very important implications for the dimensions of modular systems, particularly at module joints and at partition wall corners.
In addition, aesthetic requirements have become increasingly more demanding. It can generally be said that the closer a partition system approaches conventional drywall partitions in appearance, the more acceptable it will be. The appearance is generally enhanced by partition systems not readily displaying joints and the like in a straight run of wall and by improved finishing components.
Finally, while the moveability criteria has received attention in the design of present systems, those systems have been primarily directed toward the initial construction situation and are primarily governed by first cost considerations. As a secondary aspect, the moveability problem has received less attention, and this has led to difficulties. For example, present partition walls have generally affected cosmetics to the extent that ceilings, floors, and the like are often damaged by the walls and require repair or partial replacement when walls are moved. This adds to the time and expense of the moving process, and, in view of the significant amount of this activity required, as noted above, in a highrise office tower, the wall relocation cost factor is of major proportions.
Most modern so-called moveable systems still require very extensive labour input at the building site. In most cases this includes some assembly of the panel assemblies themselves. The cost savings to be provided by a unitized system in which the panel assemblies can be completely factory constructed cannot be overemphasized. The economics are even more attractive as one moves away from more expensive materials such as steel to utilize less expensive and more attractive building materials.
It is against this background that the present invention arises. The panel assemblies and partition systems of the present invention have been specifically designed to take into account problem areas in both first cost installations and in refits, and emphasizing both aspects. Thus, while cost advantageous at the construction stage, the new assemblies provide very significant advantages in the subsequent inevitable wall rearrangements.